Men's Basketball Set to Face No. 23 Kentucky Saturday at Rupp Arena

LEWISBURG, Pa. -- After posting two come-from-behind wins to start the season, the 2-0 Bison men's basketball squad visits No. 23 Kentucky at Rupp Arena on Saturday afternoon. After grinding out a 75-69 overtime win at Southern Indiana on Thursday night, the team bussed to Lexington on Friday for a short turnaround game against the Wildcats.

Bucknell is 2-0 for the first time against two Division I opponents for the first time since beating Purdue and George Mason to start the 2012-13 season. This is the first time the team has started 2-0 with both wins on the road since downing Rider and Syracuse in 2005-06, which was head coach John Griffin III's sophomore season. Never in their 130-year history have the Bison been 3-0, with all three wins on the road.

Preseason All-Patriot League center Noah Williamson is off to a hot start, averaging 25.5 points and 10.5 rebounds over his first two games. Williamson piled up a career-high 32 points at Southern Indiana. He drew 10 fouls in the game and went 14-for-18 from the free-throw line. Senior guard Josh Bascoe has tallied 18 and 15 points in his first two games.

This is a new-look Kentucky team with former BYU coach Mark Pope succeeding John Calipari in the head coach's seat. The Wildcats have a veteran squad this season, with a junior and four graduate transfers in their probable starting lineup.

GAME DIGEST
What: Bucknell (2-0) at No. 23 Kentucky (1-0)
Where: Rupp Arena, Lexington, Ky.
When: Saturday, Nov. 8, 4 p.m.
Watch: SEC Network Plus
Local Radio: The Valley 100.7 FM
Internet Audio: BucknellBison.com
Live Stats: UKAthletics.com
COMPLETE GAME NOTES

With a Win over Kentucky, Bucknell Would ...

... start a season 3-0 for the first time since 2012-13 (5-0 start).
... start a season 3-0 with all three wins on the road for the first time in team history.
... defeat a nationally ranked team for the first time since Nov. 22, 2005 (74-69 at No. 17/19 Syracuse).
... defeat a team from the SEC for the first time since Nov. 21, 2016 (75-72 at Vanderbilt).

Headlines

Bucknell is playing its third road game in six days to start the 2024-25 season. This will be Bucknell's first-ever meeting with Kentucky, but it will not be the team's first game at Rupp Arena. The Bison played Butler there in an 11v6 game in the 2013 NCAA Tournament, falling 68-56 in the first round.
The Bison have started a season with two straight wins on the road for the first time since 2005-06 (Rider, Syracuse).
Bucknell's two wins at Delaware and Southern Indiana have been punctuated by strong finishes. In the opener at Delaware, the Bison trailed by as many as 12 in the first half, they took their first lead with 3:47 remaining in the game, and then they broke a 73-all tie with a dominant 12-0 run to end the game. On Thursday in Evansville, Bucknell held the Screaming Eagles to one point in the final 3:58 of regulation to force overtime, and then the Bison outscored USI 12-6 in the extra period.

Bucknell Scoring Differential Through 2 Games
First 37 Minutes -5
Last 3 Minutes of Regulation and OT +23

Junior center Noah Williamson dominated Southern Indiana with a career-high 32 points. The 7-foot center went 14-for-18 from the foul line, and he scored Bucknell's last four points of regulation and its first seven points in overtime. Williamson was a Third Team All-Patriot League selection after a breakout sophomore season and was one of five players named to this year's Preseason All-Patriot League Team. He also had 19 points and 12 rebounds against Delaware and is averaging 25.5 points and 10.5 rebounds through two games.
The Bison shot 52.7% from the field (10-19 3FG) in the win at Delaware, and the 85 points were their most against a Division I opponent in a non-overtime game on opening night since 1992-93 (97-83 over Mount St. Mary's).
This is year No. 2 under head coach John Griffin III, a 2008 Bucknell graduate who was a standout guard for the Bison. Bucknell went 14-19 overall and 10-8 in the Patriot League last season. The Bison were playing their best basketball at the end of the year and finished in a four-way tie for second place, although tiebreakers relegated them to the No. 5 seed in the Patriot League Tournament. An 80-57 rout of American in the PL quarterfinals was the team's fourth straight victory, and then the Bison took top-seeded Colgate to the final seconds in a 68-65 loss in the semifinals.
The Bison returned all but three members of last year's team. Josh Adoh graduated and is using his extra COVID year at Cal State San Bernardino, a reigning Division II Final Four team. Also graduated from last year's team are top scorer Jack Forrest (16.0 ppg, First Team All-Patriot League) and walk-on Alek Delev.
That continuity leaves the Bison with one of its oldest teams in several years. Of the 15 players on the roster, 10 are either seniors (4) or juniors (6).
Kentucky, ranked No. 23 in the Associated Press poll, is off to a 1-0 start under first-year head coach Mark Pope. The Wildcats routed Wright State 103-62 at Rupp Arena on Monday and have been idle since then. Otega Oweh scored 21 points to lead six Wildcats in double figures. Amari Williams tallied 12 points and 13 rebounds, and Kentucky held the Raiders to 5-for-27 3-point shooting and 35.3% accuracy overall.
Kentucky went 23-10 overall and 13-5 in the SEC last season. The Wildcats ran into NCAA Tournament upstart Oakland in the first round and fell 80-76.
Bucknell and Kentucky shared a common bond recently, as 2019 Bucknell graduate Nate Sestina went on to use his final season of eligibility at Kentucky. Sestina missed most of his freshman year due to a shoulder injury. After three outstanding seasons with the Bison, two of which included NCAA Tournament trips, Sestina used his medical redshirt as a grad student with John Calipari's Wildcats. He was an important role player on that young Kentucky team, but unfortunately that postseason was cut short due to the pandemic.

How to Get the Game

The Bucknell-Kentucky game will be streamed on SEC Network Plus, which is available to ESPN subscribers. Andrew Kappes and Ravi Moss will have the call from Rupp Arena.
"Voice of the Bison" Doug Birdsong will have the local radio call on The Valley (WVLY 100.9) in the Susquehanna Valley.
The audio feed is also available online free of charge via BucknellBison.com.
Live statistics can be accessed via UKAthletics.com.
Follow @Bucknell_MBB for in-game updates on Twitter.

Last Time Out

Noah Williamson scored a career-high 32 points, including 11 straight Bucknell points late in regulation and overtime, to lift the Bison to a 75-69 win over Southern Indiana on Thursday night at Liberty Arena. One game after closing on a 12-0 run in an 85-73 win at Delaware, Bucknell once again took over the game late, holding the Screaming Eagles to one point in the last 3:58 of regulation and then leading from the first possession on in overtime.
Williamson was dominant all night, finishing 9-for-16 from the field and 14-for-18 from the foul line. He also grabbed nine rebounds and blocked two shots. Josh Bascoe joined him in double figures with 15 points, punctuated by a tough layup that gave the Bison a six-point lead with 44 seconds left in overtime.
The Bison have now started a season with two straight road wins for the first time since beating Rider and Syracuse in 2005-06.
Williamson surpassed his previous career high of 28 points against Loyola last season, and he became the first Bucknell player to hit 30 since Andrew Funk had 34 against Loyola in 2021-22. The Bison needed every one of them against an athletic Southern Indiana squad that had just taken DePaul to overtime before falling 80-78 on Monday.

Bucknell vs. Kentucky/SEC Series Notes

This will be the first-ever meeting between the Bison and Wildcats.
Bucknell is 1-1 all-time against teams from the state of Kentucky. The Bison have a 2011 home win over Morehead State and a 1990 neutral-site loss to Murray State.
This is Bucknell's first game against an SEC team since a 65-61 loss at Georgia on Nov. 18, 2022.
The Bison are 4-11 (.267) against current members of the SEC (1-1 vs. Arkansas, 1-1 vs. Alabama, 1-1 vs. South Carolina, 1-1 vs. Vanderbilt, 0-1 vs. Tennessee, 0-1 vs. Florida, 0-1 vs. Texas A&M, 0-1 vs. Missouri, and 0-3 vs. Georgia).

Who's Got Next?

After three straight on the road to start the season, the Bison will now enjoy a four-game homestand. The home opener is Wednesday night against Mount St. Mary's, and then Richmond, NJIT, and Rider follow.

Men's Basketball Set to Face No. 23 Kentucky Saturday at Rupp Arena

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Josh Adoh

Josh Bascoe

Alek Delev

Jack Forrest

Noah Williamson

Men's Basketball Set to Face No. 23 Kentucky Saturday at Rupp Arena

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Josh Adoh

Josh Bascoe

Alek Delev

Jack Forrest

Noah Williamson

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